Duke University’s controversial campus in Kunshan has received approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education, the university announced on Monday. Duke Kunshan University, a joint venture institution with Wuhan University, will accept its first students in 2014. It initially plans to offer master’s programs in global health and management studies; a proposed graduate program in medical physics is pending approval. The campus will also offer a liberal arts-oriented, semesterlong study abroad program for undergraduates.

Parchment, an electronic transcription service, on Tuesday announced a partnership with the GED Testing Service under which students who pass the high school equivalency test will receive free electronic diplomas and transcripts. The GED, which is owned jointly by the American Council on Education and Pearson, is gearing up for a move to become fully electronic next year. The new partnership will allow GED-holders to share their electronic transcripts with potential employers and colleges.

Teenagers say graduating from college is highly important, but teens and their mothers worry about the price tag, according to a report released this month by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.

Researchers for report “Voices for Two-Generation Success: Seeking Stable Futures” conducted focus groups with married and single mothers, teens and preteens this summer to get their thoughts on the importance of education and the affordability of college, as well as on barriers to success, community support and other issues.

Teenagers expressed economic anxiety over their future. Almost all of the older teens said they worried about affording college and knew many people had high debt and student loans. Some said their parents will contribute financially to their educational pursuits. Other teens said they may take out loans or work while in school. Despite concerns, teenagers believe a college degree leads to financial security and success. “Because nowadays you need really a college education to have a steady job that could support you,” a preteen boy from Denver said in the report.

Mothers also said a college education is important for their children and allows them to have a career instead of a job and to work on a passion rather than trying to make enough money to pay bills and get by. “Go all the way in school,” a low-income mother from Denver said in the report. “All the way… It is probably the strongest foundation you can ever have. People can take your money, they can take your house, your car, but you will always have your education to fall back on.”

Birmingham Metropolitan College has reversed its ban on students wearing the niqab, a veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face save for the eyes, The Telegraph reported. The college, which also prohibits the wearing of caps, hats and hoodies, had banned the full-face veils for safety reasons, saying it was important for individuals to be readily identifiable whenever they’re on campus. However, students protested that they were being discriminated against based on their religion. The college reversed the ban after more than 8,000 people signed a petition within 48 hours and right before a demonstration was planned on campus, saying it would modify its policies “to allow individuals to wear specific items of personal clothing to reflect their cultural values.”

"The college will still need to be able to confirm an individual's identity in order to maintain safeguarding and security.”

Metropolitan State University has paid its summer course instructors – a week late, the Pioneer Press reported. Administrators said last week that paychecks had been issued to several dozen instructors who did not receive their paychecks on time. The lump-sum payments were for thousands of dollars in some instances.

The Twin Cities-based university’s collective bargaining unit, the Inter Faculty Organization, representing faculty in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, also has requested "detailed, enumerated," line-items on their paystubs going forward, and an audit of six years’ worth of faculty pay and benefits, citing a history of payroll problems.

Purdue University's regional Calumet campus has rescinded layoffs ordered for seven faculty members, The Journal & Courier reported. Administrators had said that enrollment declines necessitated the layoffs, but now officials say that more encouraging enrollment projects mean that there is no longer the need to eliminate positions.

In today’s Academic Minute, Supriya Kumar of the University of Pittsburgh examines how flu outbreaks can be reduced by encouraging workers to use an extra sick day. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.

The University of Virginia announced last week that a special commission will study the role slavery played in the university's history, and how that history should best be reflected today. A number of universities -- among them Brown and Emory Universities -- have conducted such studies.

The hiring of David H. Petraeus, the former military leader and ex-director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to teach at the honors college of the City University of New York this year angered many faculty members when word leaked that he would be paid $200,000 for a single course. In response Petraeus agreed to teach the course for only $1.

But the University Faculty Senate is now defending the right of Petraeus to teach, and to walk to his class, following protests in which his critics shouted at him repeatedly, calling him a war criminal and vowing to follow him to every class session. A statement released by the Executive Committee of the body said: "Because they disagree with Professor Petraeus' views, these demonstrators intend to deprive him of his ability to teach and the ability of his students to learn from him.... Professor Petraeus, and all members of CUNY's instructional staff, have the right to teach without interference. Members of the university community must have the opportunity to express alternate views, but in a manner that does not violate academic freedom."